


Romantic Getaway

by masi



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 11:48:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1604060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masi/pseuds/masi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nijimura and Akashi go on a camping trip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Romantic Getaway

Akashi returns from yet another Teiko reunion dinner with bright eyes and an expectant energy about him. Shuuzou tries his best to ignore Akashi. It’s never a good idea to encourage him when he gets his ideas. One of those brats probably mentioned something new they’ve started doing, and now Akashi wants to try it out too. He tries out different fads partly out of curiosity but mostly so that he has things to talk about when he is required to make polite conversation. Last year the trend was “juicing,” blending together vegetables and fruits and assorted twigs (or that’s what those brown bits sticking out of the glass Akashi forced on him for a whole week straight looked like), Kise’s latest way to “keep the body sexy-fine.” The year before, it was acupuncture, courtesy of Midorima who was taking a course on holistic medicine. Shuuzou still has nightmares about those needles.

“Shuuzou,” Akashi begins.

“Nope,” Shuuzou replies, turning the kitchen lights off. “I’m going to bed.”

Akashi frowns. Shuuzou turns the hallway lights off as well.

Akashi switches tactics, following him into their bedroom instead of sitting down at the shogi board in the living room. He usually doesn’t go to bed this early, preferring to first wind down from the day by playing a game against himself. Well, Shuuzou is not going to complain. 

As soon as he closes the door, Akashi puts his arms around Shuuzou’s waist, kisses his back, kisses him on the nape. Shuuzou leans into the embrace. Akashi isn’t a particularly affectionate person, so Shuuzou always welcomes these attempts.

Akashi murmurs, “Aren’t you going to ask me how the dinner went?”

“What’s there to ask?” Shuuzou turns around so that he can help Akashi undress. “You’re back in one piece and in a good mood, so obviously everyone was nice to you, including Aomine.”

“They asked about you,” Akashi says. He loosens his tie as Shuuzou works on the buttons of his shirt. “I told them you had prior engagement, though I did not say it was to play ping pong with Tatsuya.” He frowns for a moment, probably because the word “ping pong” left a bad taste in his mouth. “You could have Tatsuya brought with you. He is Atsushi’s friend. Perhaps boyfriend. Anyway, they would like you to come to the next one.”

“No thanks. Once was too many. I felt like a chaperone at a field trip that time.”

“Really?” Akashi raises an eyebrow. He really shouldn’t in this state, his hair mussed like that, his shirt halfway off his shoulders. Shuuzou pulls him towards their bed, toeing his own socks off in the process.

“Wasn’t I the one who broke up the argument Atsushi had started with Shintarou?” Akashi asks, tone mild, as Shuuzou pushes him down onto the bed. “While you were making bathroom jokes with Aomine.”

“Whatever. Can we please stop talking?” Shuuzou reaches for the lube they keep in the nightstand.

“Aomine had something interesting to tell me tonight, for once.” Akashi remarks. He pulls Shuuzou down next to him, sits up himself, and then straddles Shuuzou’s hips. 

“Great.” Shuuzou presses his palms against Akashi’s abs. They’re in pretty good shape for someone who spends his time bossing people around and playing shogi against himself. “You can tell me in the morning.”

“Actually, I have to check out the location tomorrow, so I thought I would tell you now.” Akashi shrugs. “But whatever you like.” He leans down for a kiss.

Shuuzou puts a hand over Akashi’s mouth. “Wait, what,” he says. His previous enthusiasm is slowly being swallowed up by dread. “What location? Where are we going?”

“Camping.” Akashi beams. “Aomine says it helped him get in touch with nature. He is not a creditable source, of course, but I read about camping on the drive back from the dinner, and it is supposed to be very calming. We both need a break from work, yes?”

It could have been worse, like hot yoga sessions or indoor rock-climbing or attending yet another Russian ballet (“but it’s Tchaikovsky,” Akashi said last time, like that’s supposed to mean something). And camping is a private, intimate thing, just two people getting in touch with each other and nature. He can have Akashi all to himself. Akashi is more relaxed and almost fun when he doesn’t have an audience. 

So Shuuzou agrees.

***

As they trek up to the cabin from the train station, Shuuzou worries briefly about their sleeping arrangements. He’s already being used as a pack mule, carrying the heavy bags (filled with an unnecessary amount of canned foods, first aid kits, and mosquito coils) on his back. Akashi’s may ask him to set up a tent next. And later, he might be sent out to gather firewood in those dense woods bordering both sides of the road.

But then he sees the first cabin on this hill, and then a few more. Actual solid four walls and a roof and running water. He wipes the sweat from his forehead and lets out a sigh of relief.

“This one is ours,” Akashi says, finally stopping in front of one that is just off the path. “Well, actually it belongs to my aunt, who lives over there.” He gestures vaguely at the road winding upwards or maybe towards the mountains of Hokkaido, looming above them. “She said we are welcome to stay as long as we like, but I told her we are only staying the weekend.” 

The cabin looks ancient and possibly infested with termites, but when they walk inside, Shuuzou sees that the inside is clean and airy. There are beds. There is a kitchen, with an electric stove and a refrigerator.

“Not bad,” he says, tossing his bag onto the single-sized bed in the larger of the two bedrooms. They will have to sleep on the floor tonight. “You come here with your father?”

“No,” Akashi replies. He opens one of the windows.

“You want to visit your aunt first?”

“She’s not here at the moment.” 

Before Shuuzou can ask any more questions, Akashi says, “Let’s go for a hike.”

“You can talk to me about your family any time, you know,” Shuuzou says, as they walk out of the cabin. “You know everything about mine. My little brother and sister love you. Those brats wanted to come on this trip, but I told them there would be bears here.”

Akashi frowns. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? They are always very welcome. I wouldn’t have minded postponing the trip. Aren’t they coming to visit you in August?”

“That’s not the point.”

“What do you want to know about my aunt? She lives over there,” Akashi gestures towards the mountains again, “but she travels during the summer, so she is not home right now. She is fifty-five, single, and likes her tea with condensed milk. Oh, she isn’t my real aunt, rather, a second-cousin. My father’s cousin. They don’t like each other very much. Anything else you want to know?”

“Forget it.” 

They have reached a large lake. The water is very clear and blue. The air feels different here, fresher, wholesome. A nice contrast from the sticky heat that has filled the streets of Tokyo. Shuuzou does not want to ruin the mood. He doesn’t want to waste time thinking about how Akashi Senior is the root cause of like 90% of Akashi problems. Not right now. But he needs to have a talk with that old man one of these days. That guy really gets on his last nerve with the way he treats his only child. He’s the polar opposite of Shuuzou’s own father, who had always put his children first, had known how to reach out to them.

“Want to go for a swim?” Shuuzou asks.

“Alright,” Akashi says.

Shuuzou pulls off his shirt and shorts and then jumps into the lake. The cold water stuns him for a moment. He has to swim a few laps to adjust to the temperature.

When he looks back at the bank, he sees that Akashi is still far away, tentatively wading out into the lake. 

“Race you, slowpoke!” Shuuzou calls out. 

“No, thank you,” Akashi says. 

Shuuzou waits until Akashi reaches him, and then they swim farther out, side by side. Then, finally, they have a race to the middle of the lake, which Shuuzou wins. 

Before Akashi can get mad, Shuuzou tugs him underneath the surface and kisses him until they’re both gasping. When they climb out of the water, they lie on the bank and kiss there too, Akashi’s lips wet against his own, his skin cool to the touch, the grass warm underneath Shuuzou’s back.

***

Akashi insists they make a campfire that night and cook their dinner in it. He has also brought a bag of marshmallows to roast, but he says that he won’t open them until they have finished dinner, and he also says that they aren’t allowed to eat at all until Shuuzou starts a fire. Shuuzou considers reminding His Royal Bossiness that they’ve already broken all the rules for camping by having a kitchen and a refrigerator, but he is kind of intrigued by the idea of roasting marshmallows, so he walks around the forest surrounding their cabin in search of thin branches. They already have fuelwood back at the cabin.

He stays close to the cabin because he does not want to get lost. And because there are lots of wild animals in these parts, and he rather not get bitten, or worse.

After he finds enough branches, Akashi arranges all of the wood into a “log cabin” shape and takes out a packet of matches. He strikes a match with surprising efficiency and then lights the tinder. 

They sit next to each other on a wide log and roast biscuits and corn over the fire. The food tastes pretty good. Finally, Akashi opens the bag of marshmallows. He shows Shuuzou how long to hold the marshmallows in the fire so that they don’t burn. The marshmallows are cute but too sweet. Shuuzou stops eating after his third perfectly roasted marshmallow and looks into the forest, extending past the cabin, dense and foreboding. Along with the buzzing of insects, a perpetual soundtrack in these parts, he can hear an owl hooting.

“The woods are pretty dense, huh,” he says. “I can’t believe your aunt lives here by herself.”

Akashi asks, “Is the former thug, Nijimura Shuuzou, feeling afraid?” 

“Hah?!” Shuuzou flicks Akashi’s forehead, lightly. “That’s not how you talk to your senpai, Sei-chan.” 

“Tell me a ghost story, Nijimura-senpai.”

“No. That’s childish.” Shuuzou rubs his arms. “Adults do more practical things, like go to sleep when it’s nighttime. Let’s go inside.”

“Alright, I will tell you a ghost story.” Akashi pushes his knee against Shuuzou’s thigh, smiles. “Ready?”

“Go ahead.”

Akashi folds his arms and lapses into silence. Shuuzou waits, watching the fire crackle. His eyes are stinging a bit from the smoke. 

After what feels like ten minutes of silence, Shuuzou snaps, “How long does it take to come up with a story?” He turns to look at Akashi, and his heart almost drops to his stomach. 

Both of Akashi’s eyelids are flipped up, the pink, fleshy underside bulging out above his mismatched eyes. Shuuzou jumps off the log.

“What the fuck?!” he shouts.

Akashi holds out his hand. He says, “Please sit and hear my story.”

“Fix your eyes first!”

Shuuzou has seen other guys do dumb stuff like that before, and his sister does it all the time, but he never expected Akashi to even know about that kind of thing. The kid probably taught him. That look is more frightening than funny on Akashi because of his weird eyes.

“This is part of my story.”

“Akashi, I’m not going to tell you again.”

After Akashi has smoothened his eyelids out, Shuuzou sits back down. He knows that he will find this funny in the future, but he feels irritated and uneasy at the moment. It’s probably because of the forest. And how remote this area feels. He has only seen a few people since they left the train station this morning, just random guys and girls whizzing past on their bikes. Some tourists who were visiting the lake. That was during the day though. Now it is just the two of them. The stars are visible but not the least comforting, and the moon is only a tiny sliver in the dark sky. The night presses in and around them, heavy, stifling.

Akashi leans close to Shuuzou and whispers, “I died last night, while I was walking back home. I do not know how I died, but I can lead you to my corpse.”

Shuuzou shivers. Akashi’s face is half in the shadows. His hand, when he puts it on Shuuzou’s cheek, is cold. His voice is very soft, tone mournful as he continues, “Please bury my bones, so that I can have peace.”

Shuuzou flinches. Then he grabs Akashi’s hand, squeezes the fingers. “You’re a ghost? Then how come I can touch you, huh?”

He gets off the log, brushes his pants down to make sure he won’t be taking any ticks inside with him, and carefully does not look at the woods as he heads for bed. He was half-hard earlier, thinking about having sex with Akashi with the windows open, making love to the accompaniment of the cicadas singing or something, but the first thing he does on entering the bedroom is close the windows. Then he changes into a pair of sweatpants and pulls out a futon from the closet. When Akashi comes in, he pretends to be asleep.

The floor creaks as Akashi sits down next to him. After a moment, Shuuzou feels Akashi’s fingers in his hair, warmer now and gentle. “Why are you upset, Shuuzou?” Akashi asks.

“Who’s upset?” Shuuzou replies, before pulling Akashi down and putting an arm and leg over him. He says, “We’re going to sleep now. Good night.”

***

He wakes up in the middle of the night, after getting hit in the face. He moves Akashi back to his own futon, brushes out the tangles starting to form at the back of Akashi’s head. He’ll have to wake Akashi up with some nice morning sex, an apology for his shitty behavior earlier. 

He pulls the thin, Naphthalene-scented blanket up to his shoulders and tries to go back to sleep.

He can’t. The problem is that he needs to pee. 

When he can’t hold it in any longer, he drags himself out of the futon and to the bathroom across the hall. The light flickers and buzzes before finally turning on. Shuuzou puts the toilet seat up, wondering why Akashi put it down in the first place. Maybe Akashi’s old habits are returning because he is in a relative’s house. Or maybe this aunt was really harsh with him when he was a child and yelled at him whenever he forgot to put the seat down after using the toilet. There is so much about Akashi that Shuuzou does not know.

He is just getting ready to pee when he sees something gray scuttle past his feet. He jumps back with a shout.

The rat, it’s an actual rat, a rat that is fucking humongous and has a gigantic tail, vanishes somewhere behind the toilet. Shuuzou runs out of the bathroom.

He collides with Akashi in the doorway of the bedroom. Akashi’s mouth is open, he is probably asking questions, but Shuuzou has not time for that. He barrels past Akashi and jumps onto the bed. His heart is about to burst out of his chest. 

He didn’t realize he had rodent-phobia, but that’s probably what this is because he’s never felt so unsettled in his life. He is so ashamed of himself. He’s a “take the bull by the horns” kind of guy, not someone who screams at the first sign of a rat. He’s spent years beating people up. The very first day of his move to L.A., he and Tatsuya had gotten into a fight with a group of thugs, most of whom were much larger than the two of them, and they had won that fight. But here he is, almost a decade later, his skin crawling because of a rat. And he still needs to pee. It’s a wonder that he hasn’t wet himself.

“What happened?” Akashi asks, putting a hand on Shuuzou’s back. “You’re shaking.”

“There’s a rat in the bathroom! And probably everywhere! Of fuck, oh fuck what if they’re under the bed. Fuck, there are no trains until morning.”

Shuuzou rubs his face and takes a deep breath to steady himself. He doesn’t want Akashi to see him like this. But then again, what’s a partner for anyway? They should be there for the good and the bad. 

To his credit, Akashi doesn’t laugh or sound condescending as he says, “Maybe it was just that one rat.” He rubs soothing circles into Shuuzou’s back. “It will find a way out of the cabin.”

“Yeah.” Shuuzou pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re right. And it was just a little rat. It’s got nothing on me, haha. It’s not like rats carry the plague anymore either, haha. They don’t bite either. Right? Right.”

This is where he should get up and go back to the bathroom. But just the thought of putting his feet back on the floor is making him anxious. His bladder is about to burst.

“Are you okay?” Akashi yawns, rubs his eyes with his free hand. His other hand is still resting on Shuuzou’s back. “Do you want a glass of water?”

“No! No. I’m fine. It’s just … I need to piss.” 

He makes it halfway to the door before turning back around to grab Akashi by the hand. “You use the toilet right now too. I don’t want you getting up later after I’ve fallen asleep. You’ll wake me up.”

“But I don’t need to go.”

“That’s what you think.”

He pushes Akashi into the bathroom first. The rat is nowhere to be seen. Akashi pokes around the place, checking behind the shower curtain and in the cabinet, while Shuuzou finally empties his bladder. 

“The floor is bad for our backs,” Shuuzou says, on returning to the bedroom. “I’ll sleep here. You can take the other room. We shouldn’t hurt our backs when we still have another day of camping ahead of us.” He climbs into bed without looking at Akashi. 

Instead of going to the other room, Akashi gets onto the bed too, lies down right on top of Shuuzou. 

“Ouch,” Shuuzou protests, “you’re crushing me. Get off.”

“I’m comfortable here,” Akashi replies. And then, “I can’t wait to tell your siblings about tonight.”

“You really wanna go there? Really? You think I don’t have any embarrassing stories about you?”

“Of course you do not. I am not an embarrassing person.”

Shuuzou sighs. He tucks Akashi’s head underneath his chin and then folds his arms over Akashi’s back. He closes his eyes.

***

Things aren’t better in the morning. Akashi went back to his futon a few hours earlier and is now completely conked out, so Shuuzou has to get up and also get off by himself. Then he finds rat turds near the shower and some near the refrigerator. He eats his breakfast (cold bread because he is too tired to start another fire) on the logs outside as he thinks wistfully of the rice and salmon fish he could have been eating right now in his rodent-free apartment. Akashi joins him after the sun is well up in the sky.

“Let’s catch the last train home today,” he says, after spotting what looks like bear tracks to the left of the cabin. “Yeah? We can go fishing today like you wanted, and then we’ll go home.”

Akashi frowns. His hair is sticking out in all directions, and the skin around his eyes is swelling. “Shuuzou,” he says, tone very even, “we have barely done anything since we arrived yesterday.” 

“Hah? Maybe you’ve done nothing, but I’ve been working. I’ve been collecting firewood and starting a fire and all those things. I’ve done enough getting in touch with nature to last me a lifetime. I’ve found my happy place.”

“Why are you in such a rush to return to Tokyo?” Akashi asks, opening a jar of caffeine pills. “You don’t have work until Tuesday, and your friends are out of town for the summer. Including Tatsuya.”

“Nice to know you keep tabs on my friends, Mr. Nosy. Why do you want to stay here, huh? Are you trying to avoid your father again? What did he say to you this time?”

Akashi pops a pill into his mouth, dry swallows, and then stands up. “The fishing gear is in the closet in the front hall,” he says.

Shuuzou stays seated on the log. He is tired of being bossed around on a trip he wasn’t that excited about coming on in the first place. And he had only really come to spend some alone-time with Akashi, but clearly that was a big mistake. Now he knows that it’s not a good idea to have alone-time in a dense forest. 

He doesn’t get up again until Akashi has returned with two fishing rods and a box that probably contains the rig. 

They walk to the lake in silence. After they reach the banks, Shuuzou takes a rod, a few hooks, and bait and then finds a spot halfway around the lake from Akashi. He won’t be able to catch any fish in the presence of such a moody, bossy brat.

He has managed to catch one small fish, is just pulling it up, when he thinks he hears Akashi say his name. 

He looks around. Akashi has placed his fishing rod on the bank and is gesturing towards the road as he says something, but Shuuzou can’t make out the words. Then Akashi turns around and disappears over the hill.

He drops both the fish and his rod into the water. “Akashi!” he shouts. 

Akashi doesn’t respond. Shuuzou can’t see him anymore. He considers going after him, but that’s kind of pathetic. 

Akashi was probably saying that he’s bored of fishing and is going on a hike. Maybe he will get tired from the hike and decide that it’s a good idea to return home today, where there is a nice big bed waiting for them. Best to leave him alone.

Shuuzou goes for a swim. 

***

Akashi doesn’t return at lunchtime, or by mid-afternoon either. Whatever, Shuuzou thinks, opening a can of peaches. He is tired of always being the one who has to give in this relationship. Akashi only takes and takes. 

Shuuzou doesn’t regret moving back to Tokyo to live with Akashi. How can he, when Akashi specifically sought him out in L.A. three years ago, took so much unwarranted interest in him, was so polite and deferential, just like old times. Kissed him so awkwardly the first time, and there was nothing awkward about the second time, or the third. Told him that things “haven’t been the same since you left.” 

But the past three years haven’t exactly been a walk in the park. Akashi has a lot of problems that he is trying to work though, like his daddy issues and his controlling nature and his validation-through-victory mindset, and he makes things harder by trying to bottle up all his emotions. Shuuzou has to constantly keep an eye on Akashi, constantly offer unsolicited advice and consolation, even though he’s no good at talking about anything himself. On especially difficult days he dreams about another life, living in L.A. with his mother and siblings again, having a boyfriend who is more open, more relaxed. 

Evening settles in, and then night falls, and Akashi is still absent. This isn’t exactly unusual behavior. When Akashi gets really mad, he tends to say a very cutting speech and then go off somewhere. He doesn’t return until he is ready to forgive Shuuzou. But, neither of them can afford to do that in these woods. 

Shuuzou gets out his cell phone, only to realize that he doesn’t have reception. Now he is worried. 

Akashi may have decided to go exploring in the woods and then gotten lost. He could have gotten attacked by bear. He could have fallen off a cliff. There is no way Shuuzou can find him now because he can barely see five feet in front of him.

But he will have to try. He goes into the cabin. As soon as he turns the lights on, the rat runs across the hall and into the closet. Shuuzou flinches, steels himself, walks over to the closet himself to search for a flashlight.

There are about five flashlights inside, along with a pack of batteries. There is also an axe. Shuuzou puts the batteries and four of the flashlights into a rucksack, and then he heads out with the axe and the fifth flashlight in hand.

He sticks to the path for the time being, shouting Akashi’s name. No need to go deeper into the woods until it is absolutely necessary. There is no point in going to the lake either, but he checks anyway. As expected, the surface of the water is dark and calm, holding its secrets inside for the time being. 

He goes back to the main road. The higher up he walks, the more the road twists and turns. His first flashlight has started to dim, so he switches it for another. He doesn’t want to find himself walking straight off a mountain.

The owls have started to hoot again. The woods are filled with strange noises, lots of creaking and slithering and groaning. The darkness is pressing against his back. His palms are sweating, but he keeps a tight grasp on his flashlight and axe. He feels like there is someone walking behind him, but whenever he swivels around with the flashlight he only sees an empty road.

“Sorry, Ma,” he mutters, carefully edging away from another cliff. “You were right when you said my anger was going to be the end of me one day.”

Now that he thinks about it, this situation is mostly his fault. He is the one who started the argument this morning, and then he didn’t join Akashi for a hike. There was no need to be so pissed. Akashi was very bossy yesterday and this whole shitty camping trip is his fault, yes, but he was nice about the rat. And last night, he had tried to entertain Shuuzou, hadn’t he, with that eyelid joke and ghost story.

What a morbid thing to say though. Shuuzou tries not to think about it. Akashi is fine right now, he tells himself, probably just camped out somewhere. True camping, like in a tent. Yes, he found a tent on the ground and decided to set it up, and they’ll have a laugh about it as soon as Shuuzou finds him and the tent. And they’ll go home when Akashi wants to and not a moment before. He’s alive. He can’t die here.

Shuuzou walks on for forever, or that’s what it feels like, switching out flashlights and batteries, until he reaches a fork in the road. The wider road continues up the mountain, and a narrower path veers into the woods. 

He points his flashlight down the narrower road. Parts of the forest have been cleared around the road, and there seems to be a large house at the end of it. That house might belong to Akashi’s aunt. At any rate, there might be people inside who can help him.

He takes a deep breath before entering the woods. He points his flashlight on the road in front of him and concentrates on that spot of light. There is no need to look right or left. 

The path is bumpy, veined with large tree roots, the soil soft. A small fox-like animal crosses in front of him, eyes glowing. Shuuzou grips his axe and continues on. When he hears something rustling behind him, he picks up his pace. 

He thinks about nice things, like how bright Akashi’s hair is in the sunlight, and how, when he blushes, his face matches his hair. The content smile on his face after Shuuzou has fucked him. How soft and sweet Akashi’s voice is over the phone. Akashi’s quiet excitement as he talks about things that have intrigued him. How he can always be counted on to manage the household expenses and the doctor appointments and basically anything that needs managing. How good he still is at basketball. The fact that he is with Shuuzou at all.

Shuuzou reaches the house and wipes his palms on his pants. The front light is on, and one of the windows is lighted up from within, but the rest of house is dark. He hopes whoever is inside opens the door for him. He hopes that it’s a nice, friendly person who will let him use the phone, not someone who will put him on the dinner table. 

He knocks. 

After several minutes, the door finally opens.

Shuuzou has never been happier to see Akashi’s face.

***

Akashi looks surprised, which is a good look for his face, and he is wearing what must be his aunt’s pajama pants. They actually fit him, but they are covered in large pink flowers. Akashi has made many questionable fashion choices in the past but never one this bad. All of this makes it easier for Shuuzou to forgive him.

“So, you decided to visit your aunt’s place without me,” Shuuzou says, shoving his flashlight into his rucksack. He sets the axe down on the porch. A part of him wants to hug Akashi and never let go, but another part wants answers.

“You could have gotten lost,” Akashi says, slowly, like he is having trouble forming his words. “Shuuzou.” He looks past him, eyes wide. “You came by yourself? Why didn’t you wait until morning?”

“Who was I supposed to ask for help? More importantly, you weren’t planning to come back on your own in the morning either?”

“Of course I was going to return in the …” Akashi sighs and shakes his head a little. “This was very reckless of you, Shuuzou. You could have gotten lost, or attacked by a wild animal. Don’t do anything foolish like this again. I can take care of myself. Anyway, come inside.”

He leads Shuuzou into a kitchen. Shuuzou notices that Akashi is limping a little. Must have stubbed his foot somewhere. 

The kitchen is more homely than the one in the cabin, more pots and pans, a stack of cookbooks next to the stove, a collection of colored glasses, mason jars, and bottles in front of the window. Akashi has made a pot of tea, which is sitting on a round table in middle of the kitchen. His cell phone is lying next to the teacup. Shuuzou sees his own name in the text window.

“My phone’s not working,” he says. “Can’t get a signal.”

“Ah, so that is why you didn’t respond. I was trying to contact you to let you know of my whereabouts.”

Akashi pulls out a chair for Shuuzou. When Akashi sits down himself, the pajamas rise up, and that is when Shuuzou sees the thick bandage tied around Akashi’s right ankle.

“What happened?” Shuuzou grasps Akashi’s knee. “You hurt yourself?”

Akashi shifts his leg away. “Not really,” he replies. “Just twisted my ankle. I’ve iced it. But I thought I shouldn’t risk a trek back to the cabin with it, so I came up here instead. My aunt keeps a key under a flowerpot outside.” He looks at Shuuzou, face a blank mask. After a moment, he asks, “Are you very angry?”

Clearly Akashi was hiking through the wooded areas after leaving the lake. There is no way he would twist his ankle on the main road. Shuuzou wants to give him a good shake. 

He says, “Here, let me see your ankle.”

“I said I’m fine. I have had worse injuries when I played basketball.” He pours more tea into his cup and places it in front of Shuuzou. “Have you had dinner?”

“C’mon, Sei, your ankle.”

Akashi frowns before putting his foot on Shuuzou’s lap. Shuuzou unties the bandage, trying not to look too closely at the bloodstains. The ankle looks fine, nothing protruding out of the skin, but there is a nasty gash just above the bone. The cut has crusted over with dried blood. It seems to be healing, but it must have been bleeding heavily before. No wonder Akashi changed his pants. 

“Yeah, guess you’ll live,” Shuuzou says.

Akashi smiles, finally, as he says, “Kiss it better for me.”

“What happened to please?”

“Please.”

Shuuzou kisses Akashi’s anklebone and then rewraps the bandage. His work isn’t as tidy as Akashi’s was, but Akashi does not comment, only pushes the cup of tea closer to him.

After Shuuzou has finished the tea, Akashi takes the cup and says, “I am honored that you would search for me by yourself so late at night.”

Hearing the gratitude in his tone makes Shuuzou feel a little sad. He isn’t sure how to respond, so he just says, “You’re right. I should’ve just stayed put. You seem to be having a great time here.”

“How about I make you dinner, and then I will show you around the house. It’s nothing much, but my aunt has an embarrassing amount of photo albums that may have a few of my baby pictures.”

“Hell yeah. Sounds like a plan.”

***

After a warm bath, dinner (fried rice: it’s too oily, but it’s the thought that counts), and a tour of the house (there are an alarming amount of books, just piles and piles of novels littered on the tables and on the floor, and there’s an actual home theater in the basement), Akashi takes the albums out. Shuuzou sits next to him on the dumpy, flower-printed couch and watches Akashi flip through the pages. Akashi’s aunt looks a little like Akashi, the same red hair, the same spaced-out expression that he has sometimes in photos. 

There are a few photos of a chubby kid Akashi, looking happier than he does now. He is with both parents in some of the photos, but there are a couple with just him and his mother. Between the three of them, she was the photogenic one. She had a beautifully bright smile and was probably a loud person judging by the way her mouth is open wide and her arms held akimbo in one of the photos. 

Shuuzou carefully avoids looking at Akashi when they are in these parts of the albums, and Akashi doesn’t volunteer any information either, which is fine. He does tell Shuuzou stories about his relatives though, things like how his father’s brother is in rehab, that’s why he looks so high in that photo; and how Cousin Miyuki has recently bought her own island, yes, that land she is standing on is her island; and how Cousin Tamaki has casts on both his legs at that wedding because he tried to recreate Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical wings and tested them out by flying off his own roof. Shuuzou is beginning to think Akashi is the normal one in the family. Thankfully, he stops himself from saying that out loud. He is grateful that Akashi is actually telling him about his relatives. Akashi is always so self-conscious about them, about his wealth.

At midnight, Akashi closes the albums and then retrieves a bottle of cooking oil from the kitchen. “Natural lube,” he says.

“Your aunt is going to be sooo mad,” Shuuzou says, awed. 

“Not really. She’s kinky.” Akashi makes a face. “And I’m not going to think about that ever again. Come on.”

They go into a guest room. The flowery sheets and pillowcases are a little off-putting, but Shuuzou forgets about them after Akashi uncaps the bottle of oil. 

They’ve had more romantic, coordinated sex before. Tonight, the smell of the corn oil keeps reminding Shuuzou of the fried rice he had earlier, and his feet are hurting from the hike. Akashi is very unhelpful, choosing to lie back on the pillows with his legs hooked over Shuuzou’s shoulders, making Shuuzou do all the work. It would have probably been a better idea to wait until Akashi’s ankle healed, but Akashi isn’t complaining and Shuuzou doesn’t want to postpone this any longer. He keeps remembering the panic that he felt earlier that night. He wants to touch all of Akashi, hear him gasping and asking for more.

Afterwards, Shuuzou props up Akashi’s ankle on a pillow and then says, “Of course I would search for you, Akashi.” He presses a kiss to Akashi’s shoulder. “But I’m getting old, so be nice to me, okay. One day, I won’t be able to find you.”

Akashi cards his fingers through Shuuzou’s hair, touch so very gentle. Shuuzou rests his head against Akashi’s shoulder and closes his eyes. 

***

Akashi’s ankle is worse off than Shuuzou initially thought. Akashi starts limping almost as soon as they walk out of his aunt’s house. He has already called for one of his chauffeurs to come pick them up from the cabin, where the road is large enough for a car, but they are never going to make it there at this rate.

“Alright,” Shuuzou says, bending down. “Climb on.”

“That is very kind of you.” Akashi smiles. “But, your back will break.”

“You’re not that heavy. C’mon, it’s a one time offer.”

“What are you going to do with those?” He gestures to the axe and rucksack.

“I’ll put them in the house. That stuff belongs to your aunt anyway.”

Akashi still looks hesitant. Shuuzou sighs. “Alright,” he says. “I won’t tell anyone as long as you don’t tell anyone about the rat.”

“Alright,” Akashi replies.

After Shuuzou returns from the house, Akashi climbs onto his back. He isn’t especially heavy, but he is too tense at the moment, and that seems to add to the weight. Shuuzou knows that he is going to be wheezing by the time they reach the cabin. 

“Relax,” he says. “No one’s going to see you here. Or recognize you. Not with that stubble.”

“It’s more attractive than yours.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

He is sweating by the time they reach the main road. But he wouldn’t trade this for anything, being enclosed in the circle of Akashi’s arms, feeling the solid press of Akashi’s thighs against his waist, feeling Akashi’s breath on his cheek. This only happens at night.

“Just so we’re clear,” Shuuzou says, “you owe me big time when we get back to Tokyo.”

“Oh?” Akashi replies. He kisses Shuuzou on the cheek. “What do you have in mind?”

“I haven’t found anything yet, but I’ll be collecting on the favor. You can bet on it.”

“Anything for you, Shuuzou,” Akashi says. 

“Really?” 

“Why not? You never ask for more than I give.”

“Great.” Shuuzou grins. “We’ll start with me picking the next new thing we do together. No more lifestyle changes. No camping.”

“Was this trip that bad?” Akashi runs a finger over Shuuzou’s collarbones.

“Hey, none of that, unless you want me to put you down right here and now.”

“We had some good moments. Look at that view.”

Shuuzou couldn’t see last night, but when he sets Akashi down and goes to stand at the edge of a cliff, he can see the land spread out below, the trees and rolling hills, a dazzling green under the clear blue of the vast sky. The lake, glittering with sunlight. Akashi takes his hand. Shuuzou looks down at the drop and then back up at the sky. It is dizzying and kind of wonderful. 

And last night was certainly an experience. He knows Akashi better now. And Shuuzou can still smell the corn oil on his nails.

“There were good moments,” Shuuzou agrees, as Akashi climbs onto his back again. “But you still owe me. So, another thing you can do to make up for this piggyback ride.” He tries to think of something Akashi particularly dislikes. “Ping pong! You’re coming with me the next time I play.”

Akashi replies, “Fine. Provided you don’t accidentally drop me on the road today.”

Shuuzou tightens his grip on Akashi, returns to the main road, continues walking.


End file.
